Improve Western Shoshone Educational Performance

Commitment by

Barrick Gold Corporation

In 2014, Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick) commits to implement an intensive and multi-faceted approach to improve educational performance, access to higher education, and employment opportunities for members of the Western Shoshone communities located in northeastern Nevada. Barrick aims to improve high school graduation rates, improve college and vocational school entrance and completion rates, and increase employment rates. For 17-24 year olds, specifically, Barrick and its partners will launch training, mentoring, and hiring programs that will serve as pathways for future employment opportunities and create a career-ready pipeline of talent available to local employers.

Tabs

Commitment

Launched

Est. Duration

3 years

Estimated Total Value

$4,494,000

Region

Northern America

Countries

United States

Commitment by

Barrick Gold Corporation

Partner(s) of the Commitment Maker(s)

Great Basin College,
British Council

Details

APPROACH:
In 2014, Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick) commits to implement an intensive and multi-faceted approach to improve educational performance, access to higher education, and employment opportunities for members of the Western Shoshone communities located in northeastern Nevada: 1) Duckwater Shoshone Tribe; 2) Ely Shoshone Tribe; 3) Duck Valley Western Shoshone Committee; 4) Yomba Shoshone Tribe; 5) Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone; 6) South Fork Band of the Te-Moak Tribe; 7) Wells Band of the Te-Moak Tribe; 8) Elko Band of the Te-Moak Tribe; and the 9) Battle Mountain Band of the Te-Moak Tribe.
Barrick will support the implementation of a number of complimentary programs over the next four years designed to yield measurable and sustainable improvement in the opportunities that are potentially available to the Western Shoshone communities. Working with the Great Basin College, the British Council, tribal governments, and local public schools, Barrick aims to improve high school graduation rates, improve college and vocational school entrance and completion rates, and increase employment rates. For 17-24 year olds, specifically, Barrick and its partners will launch training, mentoring, and hiring programs that will serve as pathways for future employment opportunities and create a career-ready pipeline of talent available to local employers.
Programs launched via this initiative include:
1) The expansion of Barrick's Western Shoshone Scholarship Foundation to include first level descendants of tribal members who are not enrolled in one of the nine targeted tribes/bands. Scholarships for graduate school, in addition to the undergraduate and accredited vocational programs will be offered, resulting in 500 scholarships being distributed to the residents of the Western Shoshone communities. To complement the scholarship program, Barrick will offer 100 summer internships to eligible scholarship recipients.
2) The establishment of the GBC Foundation, in partnership with Great Basin College (GBC) to provide scholarships to members of the Western Shoshone. Approximately 15 Western Shoshone students will receive GBC Foundation scholarships.
3) A partnership with the Great Basin College's Maintenance Training Cooperative (MTC) to establish a program to increase Western Shoshone community members' participation in key skilled trade training programs (e.g. vocational trades training in diesel technology, electrical systems, industrial millwright, welding, and electrical and instrumentation technician). Approximately 20 Western Shoshone students will benefit from this initiative.
4) A partnership with Great Basin College and its satellite facilities to support approximately 80 Western Shoshone community students in internet based courses of study.
5) A partnership with the British Council to design and implement a culturally appropriate version of its Active Citizens program for Western Shoshone communities. This program, with a successful history of developing leadership skills through networking, coalition building, problem solving, and conflict resolution, has also been demonstrated to positively impact the participants' employability. It is designed to improve target communities' ability to achieve greater success in community development projects, including those focused on education. Approximately 120 community members will receive Active Citizens intensive training and 400 additional community members will receive Active Citizens 'top up' training.
6) Support of the provision of educational advisory, counseling, and mentoring services to assist tribal governments, youth, and families in Western Shoshone communities with educational programs and issues, with the goal of improving high school graduation and college and vocational school attendance rates. This assistance will include mentoring of students, assistance with financial and logistical planning for college, completion of community level educational needs assessments, and more individualized counseling. It is estimated that over 800 persons (students, parents, council members, tribal program staff and others) in Western Shoshone communities will participate in this engagement program.
7) The support of summer youth employment programs, youth prevention programs, and after school programs to help avoid or mitigate obstacles and challenges that affect the academic performance and behavior of youth. Approximately 450 youth will participate in summer youth employment programs.
To expand opportunities for members of the Western Shoshone communities, especially the 17-24 year old population, Barrick will engage with other industry employers to collaborate in these education, training, and mentoring initiatives, and will reach out to its supply network and to other regional businesses in the mining industry to encourage similar collaboration.
ACTION PLAN:
Year 1
Barrick will:
- expand eligibility for Western Shoshone Scholarship Foundation scholarships
- expand the type of scholarships provided to include Graduate School studies
- support a summer internship program for selected scholarship recipients.
- initiate a tuition support program for Western Shoshone students pursuing internet courses of study at Great Basin College
- contract an educational advisor to assist Western Shoshone students, families and communities
- support summer youth employment programs in Western Shoshone communities
- monitor and report program activities at the end of the year
Great Basin College:
- dedicate eight seats for Western Shoshone students in MTC program vocational training courses.
- reach out to the Western Shoshone community about educational opportunities at GBC
Great Basin College Foundation:
- develop a scholarship program for Western Shoshone students.
The British Council will:
- provide intensive Active Citizens training to 30 Western Shoshone community members and cascade this training to an additional 100 community members
Year 2
Barrick will:
- continue Western Shoshone Scholarship Foundation scholarship awards with expanded eligibility and type
- continue summer internship programs
- continue to provide tuition support for internet studies
- continue contracted educational advisory services
- continue support for summer youth employment programs
- continue to monitor and report on program activities
Great Basin College will:
- continue the dedication of 8 seats to Western Shoshone in the MTC vocational training program
- continue outreach to the Western Shoshone community
Great Basin College Foundation will:
- implement a scholarship program for Western Shoshone students
The British Council will:
- provide intensive Active Citizens training to 60 Western Shoshone community members and cascade this training to an additional 100 community members
Year 3
Barrick will:
- continue Western Shoshone Scholarship Foundation scholarship awards with expanded eligibility and type
- continue summer internship programs
- continue to provide tuition support for internet studies
- continue contracted educational advisory services
- continue support for summer youth employment programs
- continue to monitor and report on program activities
Great Basin College will:
- continue the dedication of eight seats to Western Shoshone in the MTC vocational training program
- continue outreach to the Western Shoshone community
Great Basin College Foundation will:
- continue a scholarship program for Western Shoshone students
The British Council will:
- provide intensive Active Citizens training to 30 Western Shoshone community members and cascade this training to an additional 100 community members
Year 4
Barrick will:
- continue Western Shoshone Scholarship Foundation scholarship awards with expanded eligibility and type
- continue to provide tuition support for internet studies
- continue contracted educational advisory services
- continue support for summer youth employment programs
- continue to monitor and report on program activities
Great Basin College will:
- continue the dedication of 8 seats to Western Shoshone in the MTC vocational training program
- continue outreach to the Western Shoshone community
Great Basin College Foundation will:
- continue a scholarship program for Western Shoshone students
The British Council:
- facilitate cascade training to an additional 100 community members

Background

Barrick's mining operations in northern Nevada exist within what was the traditional territory of the Western Shoshone people. While ownership of nearly all of this territory now resides with the United States government, Barrick has committed to ensure that the Western Shoshone communities located in these territories realize long-term benefit from Barrick's development of mineral resources on these lands. For this reason, Barrick entered into a 'Collaborative Agreement' with Western Shoshone Tribes and Bands to maintain regular, on-going engagement between Barrick and these communities and to share a spectrum of benefits derived from Barrick's operations. These communities include the: 1) Duckwater Shoshone Tribe; 2) Ely Shoshone Tribe; 3) Duck Valley Western Shoshone Committee; 4) Yomba Shoshone Tribe; 5) Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone; 6) South Fork Band of the Te-Moak Tribe; 7) Wells Band of the Te-Moak Tribe; 8) Elko Band of the Te-Moak Tribe; and the 9) Battle Mountain Band of the Te-Moak Tribe.
These Western Shoshone communities are underserviced and can generally be described as having: lower than average high school graduation rates; lower than average college entrance rates; lower than average college graduation rates; and higher than average unemployment rates. Many young people between the ages of 17 and 24 are out of school and unemployed or under-employed, a factor that limits the long-term economic prospects for these communities.
Given these conditions, improving educational performance has become a primary focus for Barrick's community investments, with the ultimate goal of improving high school graduation and college enrollment rates, and access to high quality educational opportunities. Barrick's educational initiatives compliment and support the company's overarching goal of improving employment opportunities for community members over the long-term.

Partnership Opportunities

April 2016

Barrick has sought additional funding for scholarships or other financial support resources for eligible Western Shoshone students from the eight target communities for post-secondary education.

Barrick has also sought additional internship or alternative work experience opportunities for Western Shoshone students who receive Western Shoshone Scholarship Foundation Scholarships, Great Basin College scholarships, MTC scholarships, and for students who do not receive scholarships but are participating in other educational programs associated with this commitment.

Barrick's Western Shoshone Scholarship Foundation eligibility criteria were expanded to include first level descendants of tribal members who are not enrolled in one of the eight targeted tribes or bands, include scholarships for graduate school. Each summer, 20-25 summer interns have worked in tribal administration roles.

The GBC Foundation began providing 5 scholarships per term to Western Shoshone.

Barrick and Great Basin College have increased Western Shoshone participation in the Maintenance Training Cooperative's (MTC) key skilled trade training programs such as vocational trades training in diesel technology, electrical systems, industrial millwright, welding, and electrical and instrumentation technician.

Barrick has implemented the Tuition Assistantship Program (TAP) in partnership with Great Basin College to fund tuition costs for Western Shoshone students enrolled in internet based courses of study.

Barrick and the British Council have designed and implemented a culturally appropriate version of the Active Citizens program for Western Shoshone communities and have trained community members from five of the eight partner communities to date.

Barrick has supported the provision of educational advisory, counseling, and mentoring services to assist tribal governments, youth, and families in Western Shoshone communities with educational programs and issues through contracting of the former Superintendent of Schools for Elko County, herself a Western Shoshone alumna, in what is essentially a full time role.

Barrick has continued to support summer youth employment programs, youth prevention programs, and after school programs to help avoid or mitigate obstacles and challenges that affect the academic performance and behavior of youth. All eight partner communities have managed summer youth programs.

Barrick has engaged with Newmont Mining Company to encourage their collaboration in education, training, and mentoring initiatives.